Wrong
by Fentir
Summary: Experiments can go wrong too. MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH (well, kinda)
1. Prologue

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This fanfiction will play in two perspectives; First chapter from Senku's view, second chapter 3rd person.  
Just so you're not too perplexed about the sudden shift!

* * *

Where did I go wrong?  
Why did science go the way it did?  
Why can't that big guy stop crying?!

Right.. I'm lieing here dying. Choking on my own damn blood.

I should have known they would use_ that stuff_ against us.

Should have known, Tsukasa's goons would turn on us eventually.

Should have known they'd try to stop progress in his name - at any cost.

So our newly acquired gas turned out to be toxic, fine. Not as if I hadn't known that, science always came easy to me. Unlike human psychology. Screw that.

It's a good thing everyone went to watch new year's sunrise before it happened. I should have gone with them, instead of blindly concentrating on my work. Tsukasa's men had sabotaged the one tank our new gas was stored in. That gas and oxygen don't mingle well, you know.. before I knew, everything exploded around me.

And I'd inhaled enough unburned gas to poison myself. It was gone by the time everyone came rushing back, the big guy.. Taiju.. in front.

So gross to be held by a guy who's leaking saltwater and ... some.. kind of green goo.. ew. I try to push him away, but my limbs aren't moving.

Someone runs off to get help, or medicine, or anything at all. I smile bitterly, by the time they're back, it'll be too late anyway. Already feeling everything shut down, starting with the kidneys, one harsh cramp and they're dead. Just like that. Stomach and intestines die next.

Damn, I must look like shit, the way the _mighty_ Taiju goes pale. He's screaming my name, right while the rest of my bottom half dies off and I stop feeling my legs altogether. It won't be long now so I try to speak, share some more wisdom before it follows me to my grave, but all I manage is a bloody cough. Breathing gets harder as lungs turn to cold meat.

My heart tries to beat harder when a surge of panic rushes through me, but fails to. Someone comes running, carrying the device we acquired from that weirdo why-man. If I was petrified, maybe the restoration effect could fix me..? A small glimmer of hope. It brought me back from near death once already, would be worth a shot.. we saved a braindead girl once, why wouldn't it work..!?

It's not been long since I modified the thing to be more.. precise. You can actually target single persons now, so no need for everyone to run from the green light anymore. They put the collar on me; I discovered it worked best when you started from the neck so the person wouldn't feel the cold stone their body turned into. A quick flash and I feel the skin harden, the flesh petrifying at once.

At the same time, my heart stops. Ten billionth of a second before it's petrified.

My consciousness fades. Where did I go wrong? Maybe I didn't, maybe trying to revive the old world was the right thing to do..

Or, I was wrong all along.


	2. Afterlife

When suddenly an image flashed up blindingly white before his eyes, Senku didn't know what to make of it. The rational part of his mind told him that it was probably the last of his braincells dying a dog's death, causing whatever information was stored in them to flare up before burning out like a candle.

The usually surpressed, timid part which was his hope suggested he was dead and maybe went to heaven.

Then came the scientist, declaring how it wasn't possible that heaven existed in the first place. A sick old man's fantasy, nothing more. How was heaven even supposed to work? Energy had no form, how would people see each other? Even if it did exist beyond the ability of the human mind's grasp, how many people would be there by now? What about animals? Microbes?

It was somewhere between irritating and interesting to watch his personality crumple like this. Senku just leaned back - or thought he did - and enjoyed the show, the two parts not being himself (or maybe they were?) fighting over what was possibly real. The light hadn't moved though, for all he knew, they were standing in a tunnel. How cliche'd. What was he to decide now, wether to step into he proverbial light or not? Was there even any difference? His body had long since died off and even if he could go back, he'd be stuck in a petrified corpse. Even if they released him from the state, all they'd have would be a corpse - with his soul stuck inside. The human body didn't just return to life just because a soul or whatever went into it.. Once the cells ceased to function, they'd be dead meat.

So he had no intention of going back. Not a reasonable solution after all. Not logical either. So he went to go into the light - not surprised about the fact his other two aspects had vanished the moment he'd made his decision. Maybe his subconscious had figured it out long before he had. That's how the human mind worked at times - there was no such thing as a free will. It was about the only psychological thing he could comprehend; cause it made sense. The brain was nothing but a complex computer. Pull a few plugs and it will stop working. There were no random decisions, no real emotions rather than wildly clicking switches and triggers. Thus he was convinced the second he touched the light, he'd either run straight into a wall or be gone for good. His computer was shutting down, so all that was left at this point was for the LEDs to go out. But what was the point of him seeing this? He'd rather have stayed unconscious and died that way..

A shuffling sound made him flinch and look around. It came from the opposite direction. A sniffling noise and someone speaking followed suit. He couldn't quite make out any words, as they came in a blurred mush, so he was half about to ignore the irritating thing, when one of the words came clear.

"Senku..", said the voice and with a twinge he realised it was Taiju. Was that a memory too?

"Come back, man.. You can't just die on us.." He sounded distressed. The youth in question snorted. Little too late for that kind of wishful thinking.. A shaking sensation on his left shoulder and a pain beyond even what dying had felt like. But why? He hadn't been injured there and by all logic his body shouldn't even feel anything to begin with. Still the pain went on, even got worse as there came no reaction from his flesh. Instinctively he grabbed his shoulder with a hiss and was surprised to notice the feeling abruptly leaving, Taiju's voice giving off an almost panicky gasp.

"What is it, Taiju-kun?", joined Yuzuriha the chorus in his head. She, as Taiju, sounded as if she'd been crying - a lot. Her usually sweet and mild voice now slightly rough at the edges. A sobbing which probably wasn't her followed. If they just would shut up..

"He's alive..!", Taiju then said, catching Senku's attention once more. What was he talking about?

"Of course he is.. see that display? As long as that curve isn't flat, his heart is beating"

"I'm not talking about his body, Yuzuriha..!", Taiju almost cried out in desperation. "He's been out for two weeks! What if he never wakes?"

"I know, I know.. shh, it'll be alright. He won't just leave us like this."

Now this didn't make any sense. They hadn't researched displays yet, much less heart monitors. Part of him wanted to go back just to confront whoever had invented this in the time he was out, the part that wasn't rational, the part that was a hopeless (or too hopeful) case. There was no way this was real. He was supposed to have been unconscious for two weeks..? Who were they kidding, except for themselves! He'd felt his body give out one millimeter at a time!

Another jolt of pain went through him and had him actually cry out in both shock and discomfort, stumble back and hold his chest area. Was this part of brain death? Then a beeping sound, getting louder, more frantic. Taiju and Yuzuriha seemed excited all of a sudden, crying out simultanously, and two sets of running footsteps moved away and became silent.

Finally, his surroundings started to go darker.

"Heh, called it", he smiled and waited for the inevitable.

* * *

The ceiling did look nothing like the huts he had gotten used to. The scent around him didn't smell like centuries of clean air either. More like the stench of desinfectants and medicine. The light wasn't anything like he'd known for months either. A harsh, white, cold light, shining directly into his half open eyes. He tried closing them, but someone was holding one of them forcibly open, then shone into the other, leaving a black spot in the periphery of the first. A blurry sight was all he had when the other eye wasn't burned by that light any longer.

"Ishigami-kun, wakey-wakey!", said someone he didn't recognise. A white blob was all he could see right now. Heh, so god existed all along. Senku felt the corners of his lips twist themselves into a cruel, ironic smile - little did he know that all it was, was the feeling of it, no outer reaction whatsoever. He continued to muse; Was he being sent to hell for being a scientific asshole? Slowly his sight became more clear and he could see features. A white beard, glasses, long white coat. A name tag which he couldn't quite read. Some kind of doctor..? Not god then?

"Can you hear me, Ishigami-kun?", inquired the man in white, snapping something loudly next to his left ear, which felt terrible. His spiky-haired head turned away and a laugh ensued, much to the horror of the two students staring at him.

"No need to worry. This is some serious progress. Give it a few hours and he may be responsive"

"Really?!" Taiju, always loud. Damnit.

"That's great! I'm so relieved.." Yuzuriha, less loud but *hell*.. her high pitched voice was almost worse than Taiju's roaring. At least the beeping had returned to normal instead of that constant ringing from before.. One less sound being abnoxious.

"But I can't tell if there's any permanent damage. We will have to do some more tests. His pupil reaction seems fine so far, a little delayed but that's to be expected, given the circumstances", the doctor further rambled along. Some kind of joyful sounds came from the other two. Circumstances?, Senku thought. Well.. he assumed almost dying had that effect on a person.. hah, how was that for optimism? Already accepting the slim chance of this being real..

The doctor then left and it became blissfully quiet.

Without even noticing, he'd drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

In the midst of dreaming, it suddenly hit him.

This wasn't stone world, was it?!

The sheer weirdness of that made him sit up straight and suddenly, in fact suddenly enough for someone - from the pitch, it was Yuzuriha - to squeak and a chair to fall over with much noise, but Senku didn't care. He stared ahead, pale as a ghost, as reality made itself quite known to him, in the form of a persistent nausea that had him back on his back in no time. So now the ceiling was subject to his pointed stare as he tried figuring out .. well, where to start?

"Senku-kun! Are you awake?", said someone next to him, but he paid no attention. Not until a gentle hand touched his forehead and he looked at the person the hand belonged to. Said person flinched back at his gaze, but smiled right afterwards.

"We were worried. You were asleep for so long..", Yuzuriha said, going only to fetch the chair and sit down next to his bed. Taiju was nowhere in sight, which was weird considering his character. Senku was about to ask, when the girl next to him spoke up.

"Taiju-kun got a notice.. his grandma is sick.. he will be back soon", she said with a sad smile. He nodded, then was about to ask what happened, when Yuzuriha went on.

"You want to know why you're here, right?", she inquired, stupifying him once again by reading his thoughts. Then again, she'd always been empathic.. at least in the stone world. Back before that incident, had she been this way too?

".. the whole physics room is destroyed. They closed the school for a while for fear of it breaking down in places. It seems something caught on fire and exploded. Three or four of our friends have been hurt, but you were the only one unconscious..", she began but had to stop to wipe off a stray tear. It was effecting her deeply, recalling these events. "With all the blood we thought.." Senku lowered his eyes, was about to mutter an apology, but she shook her head, smiling once again, her eyes still wet.

"I'm just glad you're okay!"

* * *

Though 'okay' was probably an overstatement.

The following days Senku tried leaving the bed several times on his own, only to find walking so incredibly difficult he finally gave up. Two times he fell, only to have a nurse take him back to bed. Even peeing required assistance, as embarrassing as it was. Why was he so weak? This couldn't be the results of two weeks resting, could it? He'd read up on muscle atrophy and this was nowhere the critical time. He should be able to at least move around, even if not for long!

So he did the one thing coming to mind when faced with a problem he didn't understand; look for rules. For facts to base a thesis on. What could be wrong? Starting from the brain, some hemathome maybe. That would be the worst scenario, as these took ages to heal and a long rehabilitation. Concussion was possible too, though after two weeks, it should be nearly healed. Plus, there weren't any headaches or sickness either. The neck could be an issue, especially since he didn't know how he'd landed. A slightly deranged vertebra could easily push on one or multiple nerves and weaken the signal from brain to muscles. Actually, any part of the spine could be to blame there. His theory didn't explain why he could easily feel anything down to the toes though. If nerves were damaged, there'd be tingling in the lower extremities.

It just didn't add up. Maybe it was just the bloodsugar. Judging from the IV drop still clinging to his arm, he'd been forcefed the last weeks. These solutions contained minerals, vitamins and to a certain degree calories rich substances as fat and proteins, but not much. Most of it was fluid and natrium in order to sustain a lifesupporting bloodpressure in a non-moving patient. He wasn't that hungry though.

Then again, laying in bed for over two weeks did one or two things to your blood circulation. Maybe he'd gone too fast, tried moving right after jumping out of bed, what a fool he was.. He could slap himself for even worrying.

Then the door to his room opened and in came three people; the nurse assigned to him, followed by two people he couldn't have forgotten if he tried.

First, his mother, smiling gently.

Last his father, Mr "I'd collect grains of platinum to help a random scientist out". Despite himself, Senku felt some tears well up; he hadn't seen his parents for over 3700 years. Though he'd never admit, he'd missed the both of them dearly.

"What's wrong, sweetie?", said mother in a voice like milk cream, sitting on a chair next to the bed her son laid on, taking his one hand into both of hers, careful of the needle. "You're shaking, are you cold? Honey, please close the window!"

"N-no mom, it's alright..", Senku mutterted, putting his other hand on top of hers. "It's alright"

"Are you sure?", his father piped in. "It's pretty cold outside today"

"Be my guest", Senku replied with a smile, changing his opinion rather quickly. Nothing should disturb this moment, not even one millimeter of a fight about trivial things.

But there still was this nagging feeling - something didn't seem right there. Not at all! Though figuring out what it was seemed like an impossible feat. His head felt like a block of clay inside-out, thinking about certain aspects just didn't work. Still he had the feeling it was important he found out what was bothering him, somehow it felt like a neccessity to do so. Neccessity - for what? If this was a dream, all that'd happen would be him waking up. And he wasn't exactly certain he even wanted to. Being here with both his parents felt so - natural. Good. They belonged here with him and he belonged to them. Soon he'd return to school, to his well-accostumed everyday-routine, blow everyone's minds with his superior knowledge and nag Taiju to finally confess his feelings to Yuzuriha - in a fully uninterested way, that is.

Still the feeling didn't go away.

Something was off, terribly so. And it just entered the door to his room.


	3. Purgatory

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I went and replaced the chapter, only now noticing there's actually stuff missing.  
No clue why it wasn't there in the first place but rest assured, the last part now makes more sense.

Enjoy :)

* * *

"Taiju-kun?", a female voice called softly.

The man in question looked up. He was in a hut, sitting on a log in lack of a proper chair, next to a bed. If it wasn't for the crude style, one could almost assume it was the very same room Senkuu had found himself in. Maybe one would be right, too, for this was the very place the sick and injured were taken to either recover or die - since recently, the former of course. On the bed lay the very same youth, unmoving, but far from pretrified. They'd undone the "spell" a few minutes after it being triggered, since that worked best according to some tests, lots earlier. Whatever wound had been there had closed, but he'd yet to regain consciousness. Taiju felt reminded of a very certain scenario, not too long ago. It was just him, Yuzuriha and Senkuu back then. His friend had gotten himself in quite a predicament, with his neck broken and almost dead, his failsafe being a little bit of petrified flesh right next to a wound nobody could see. This was the day they'd found out about the healing capabilities of this so-called curse. It was the bias for their current use of it, too. It had saved lots of lives since then. The technique had proven useful. People woke up dizzy and disoriented, but usually cured of whatever ailment had plagued their bodies; even near death, or even seconds after death. Senkuu too had revived a lot sooner that day so long ago, so why wasn't he coming back now?

Taiju had kept an eye on his friend day, after day, after day, only leaving for physical needs, returning when he could, taking care of what was needed - whenever it was needed. But said friend hadn't even twitched. He was breathing, so it was certain Senkuu was still alive, but each breath was so flat they'd almost declared him quite dead and possibly buried him. Taiju had prevented that as well. He was, in fact, the best friend anyone could wish for.

Yuzuriha, whose voice had disturbed his brooding, came to kneel next to him, her big eyes sad. Of course it affected her; on one side, she feared for one friend's life. If he suddenly stopped breathing, there wasn't much they could do, even now. The Medusa device's 'battery' was completely depleted, taking ages to recharge - or a blazing hot, sunny day. It had been raining for weeks with no sign of improving conditions, so a quick recharge was out of the question.

On the other side, a friend who gave his last to prevent the, maybe, inevitable from happening. He wouldn't even let someone else take over so he could rest. This too bothered her, greatly too: Taiju had taken to the notion Senkuu might die while he was away (thanks to Gen's dark humor which had granted him the small victory of scaring Taiju to near paranoia and a neat bump on his head, awarded by Kohaku who'd been glad to do so). He of course knew he was overreacting, nonetheless, the man, who'd throw himself in harms way if his friends were in danger, was afraid.

"Let me watch him for a while, Taiju-kun.. you need to sleep. Please.", she then began, expecting the answer that was promptly given. The same one he'd given countless times before. A simple shake of his large head.

"I can't.. what kind of friend would I be if I just..", he began, but she wouldn't have any of it this time. Lately, Taiju had started looking more tired, almost haggard; she'd decided to stop him before he too required medical 'assistance'.

"A very good friend. Everyone is worried about you, too. It's just a few hours. I will wake you if anything happens."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

His sudden giving in surprised her, but she didn't comment on it, just gave him a resolute look, nodded in agreement. But then he started again:

"What if.."

"Taiju-kun..", she sighed, pulling him off the log right into a hug. The fact she could do that said a lot; he had twice her weight in raw muscles but didn't put up much resistance. He was, in fact, tired as hell, being kept awake by sheer willpower alone. "It will be alright." After a moment, he just uttered a quiet "Okay", before he was helped to one of the other beds, tucked in tightly and asleep in seconds. Yuzuriha just smiled, shaking her head and took place where the stubborn young man had been sitting before.

"One who sleeps too little.. and one who doesn't wake up", she mumbled to herself, noticing their common friend didn't seem to sleep all too peacefully. A nightmare maybe..? A single drop of sweat ran down his high cheek; or was it a tear? He'd begun giving small, hasty huffs. He seemed to try fight something off, but couldn't move enough to hurt a fly. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. Senkuu was dead-silent again, while Yuzuriha could hear her own heart race. Immediately she checked for a pulse; Thank god, he was fine.

"Senkuu-kun..", she said quietly, taking the young scientist's hand into her own and squeezing it a little, reassuringly. "Come back to us.."

* * *

Shishio, Tsukasa.

The one person breaking the whole picture, was standing right in the door, his customary menacing look staring at the current inhabitant of the room. Even wearing modern clothes; he looked every bit like the common youth. But despite this outer look, slowly, not unlike a predator, he started stalking towards Senkuu, who stared right back, like a rabbit caught in a corner.

"Tsukasa..?! What..", the very same began, but the other didn't leave him time to speak.

"You don't belong here. This isn't your world"

"Huuh.. What are you talking about? First off, what is the world's 'strongest primate' doing here, in a random student's sickroom? I don't think we even have introduced ourselves all prop-..."

"Stop acting cool. You're too smart to believe this made-up world", Tsukasa interrupted, not stopping one second. "Yes.. you called me by my first name. Your subconscious works to unravel the dream"

"W-what are you talking about anyway.. I just woke, dumbass. No way I'm dreaming. That weird s-..."

"Stone World, isn't it?"

"Wha-.."

"How could I know this? It was all but a dream, wasn't it? A side-effect of the concussion maybe, or the drugs in your blood. Let me tell you, they're waiting. Hoping for your safe return and you refuse to go back? Yes, that's selfish, even for you. I know you keep hearing voices, ever since you 'woke'. Listen closely.."

"There's no way I'm hearing voices..!"

"Listen."

"Tch.. if you just shut up.."

So, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, he listened. First, the low rumbling of the nearby devices, meant to supervise his vital signs. Wind, blowing around the building, a sharp wheezing sound. Very uncanny; birds, singing in the midst of the storm. When did the weather change? Hadn't it been all sunny and still before?

"Listen", Tsukasa said again, when his mind began to wander. Damn that..

"..-kuu! Come back!"

What? All of a sudden, he'd heard it, under the wind. Like a whisper. Now when he started to focus on the sound, it became louder, unlike a whisper, more like someone yelling full volume into his ear.

"Do you hear them now?", Tsukasa said again, calm amidst the raging weather outside. There wasn't a trace of his student clothing anymore. He looked every bit his leader-of-the-stone-world-self, all dressed in fur and leather. This couldn't be, Senkuu concluded, as he wearily stared at the other, who was calm and so very unmoved it was unnerving. Aside from this fully unreasonable thing there was no logical reason why this could be a dream. He smelled the sharp scent of the desinfectants, felt the rough mattress under him, had that nasty pricky feeling of a needle in his arm, heard the storm outside - or maybe not, weird weather - and looked straight at Tsukasa, who'd transformed back to his student self. Strange, but no evidence of this being a dream. For all he knew, he was wide awake, dizzy and hallucinating. Modern world's drugs, so very different from the herbal stuff back there.. This too proved he was home. This was real. He felt real. He'd spent the better of two weeks in this damn room, losing valuable time he could've used for his project. That was.. what?

"You're closest from home you'll ever be. But if you decide to stay here.. yes, it might very well become your home again..", Tsukasa again crashed his train of thought with that motionless expression of his.

"..So..", an unnerved Senkuu began, but the other wasn't done yet.

"You will of course die in the outside world. Yes, with you, science will die. Civilization will never return. War will never return. Yes, this could be beneficial to both of us"

"Bastard.."

"It's not my decision. Or my responsibility. You will have to make that call, Senkuu. Will you see this world as it is or keep believing in your truth?"

".. what if I wanted to go back?" Couldn't hurt to ask.

"I shall kill you. The only way to release your self from this.. state."

"Wa-wait, if I die here, doesn't that mean..?! You know.."

"Don't be a fool. You're too smart for that"

Tsukasa, or whoever he was, didn't wait for much of an answer. Lacking the physical power to stop the hands closing around his neck, his victim just weakly gripped the strong hands, as oxygen couldn't pass by the throat any longer. On top of that, Tsukasa's weight pressed him down. Senkuu felt himself slowly sufficating - panic started to well up in his eyes. He wanted to speak, to call for help, but couldn't.

"Yes, I already know your answer. You're afraid I'm wrong and you will die here"

A nod, the only reply coming.

"Don't. This can't be real."

A woman's scream ripped through the silence. Through hazy eyes, Senkuu could see his mother standing in the door, a look of sheer horror on her face. Almost cliche'd, her mouth was wide open from screaming. Tsukasa wasn't impressed.

"I shall show you this isn't real"

He let go of the younger one, who started coughing violently, as air passed into his lungs again and his vision cleared. Though he wished he didn't see. Tsukasa just casually strode to the woman in the door, who seemed too afraid to move, shivering in fear. All of a sudden, the man even held a dagger in his dominant hand. He didn't bother hiding what he was about to do, nor did he care about her loud voice, just pulled her into the room, calmly closed he door, every bit the sociopathic mass-murderer.

"Watch closely. This isn't your mother", he said, turning to Senkuu, who'd started moving the second Tsukasa had turned on _her, _how dare he!_, _but only managed to fall flat on the ground, his legs unwilling to cooperate. Not that he didn't try crawling closer. Who cared if that IV drop fell over, beeping loudly, maybe it called in help..?!

"Nobody will come", Tsukasa commented on his thoughts, made sure the younger could see from his point, then made one quick slash over the woman's throat. Blood seeped out, gushed out like a river, as she went limp within seconds. Her dead body fell to the ground, thrown away like a bag of rice. With mild interest, the killer watched Senkuu going from shock to anger within a couple of heart beats.

"You damn..!"

"Yes, that's it. Get angry. Maybe this will help"

Being no warrior to begin with and still sick and weak, Senkuu's following lunge wasn't worth the name. Tsukasa dodged easily, then pressed the boy - for it was a boy, if he went mad over the death of a woman - against the next wall, dagger close at hand.

"Just know that my self in you and myself in the real world have nothing to do with each other.. yes.. it's all your imagination.."

With that, the blade went through bruising flesh and the last Senkuu felt was his own blood, boiling hot, washing out of the cut veins, and the ground as he slumped on it.

* * *

All he could see was darkness.

Not the kind you'd see at night, but the real deal. In fact, he knew exactly what kind of darkness it was, for he'd seen it for like what, 3700 years? But how could that be, they didn't know the petrification beam in the old world and even if they did, with his body being like this he wasn't having one millimeter odds of survival. Too much time would pass before someone even got the damn device and got it to him, used it properly on him, all before he bled to death. Then again, they'd done it before. Last second saves, of all the things.. So if his theory, against all odds, proved true, he might just as well start counting again.

Can't wake in mid-winter, right?

1.. 2.. 3.. 4..

This didn't add up, at all. Not in one billion years this would make sense. He'd never been dreaming, much less with that much detail. He could remember almost every single thing since he'd woken up in the hospital room. Every ache, pain, the dull food, the visitors. He was dead, one hundred percent sure. But why could he still think? In all logic, his brain should have shut down from lack of oxygen by now. Could the human brain really create a fully autonomous world, inside your head?

5.. 6.. 7.. 8..

What about the stone world, had that been a dream too? An illusion? With scents, taste, the ground beneath your feet, freezing cold in winter and scorching sun in summer? Then again, it really had been dreamlike, hadn't it.. he'd even survived getting his neck broken. Back in the old world they'd have called it a plot armor, quite literally. A bit of leftover stone had protected him, like an armor, and healed the otherwise deadly injury when it was dissolved. In which weird reality would dissolving a stone repair nerve damage? Maybe he'd woken from one dream into another.. but where did that leave reality?

9.. 10.. 11.. 12.. 13.. 13.. 13..

"Don't die. You can't die now! You hear me?!"

His train of thought shattered once again - it was becoming a habit, he mused -, he looked up. Now where'd that voice come from? Whose was it even, he couldn't place a face to it. Now he noticed himself to possess a form. Most curiously, he wore that outfit he made himself out of sheer neccissity and monkey skin. Even the bloody label he wrote was still there. E=mc², a reminder to himself, to keep going. Why would one dream leak into a third one? A side-effect of the drugs, again, triggering first a nightmare, then something like this. The only logical reason. As the voice called again, he found curiousity get the better of him, so, in order to find out where this voice was coming from, he went to explore the darkness.


	4. The long sleep

_"He didn't die on me, did he, doc?"_

_"Not to worry, it's just the healing process. His brain was shaken up pretty badly, to put it in non-medical terms. It is perfectly normal for a boy of such a young age to take his time recovering, sir."_

_"Phew.. don't do that to your old dad, Senkuu"_

* * *

It felt a little chilly when he opened his eyes. Pitch-black darkness surrounded him, but something else was amiss, that much he realised almost immediately. The chemical stench of his hospital room. Gone, as if he'd never been there in the first place. But if he wasn't where could he possibly be? Irritation welled up, when his usually sharp mind refused to cooperate.

~Feels as if a train went in through one ear, left through the other and trashed what was between..~

He sat up, a low growl in his throat, only to find he couldn't get past a few centimeters. Frowning he tried to focus, then finally took note of the weight on his chest, the warmth to his left and right, the deep sounds of calm breathing around him and - this was terrible - someone's really foul smelling breath. If he just could see.. The warmth on his right moved slightly, a few words were mumbled before whoever was there apparently drifted back to sleep.

It was enough to identify the person though.

~Yuzuriha..? Then.. the other..~, Senkuu's mind began catching up, dread building up in the pit of his stomach, as he slowly turned his head. His eyes slowly adapting to the dim light, he thought he saw the silhouette of a spiky haired head. Promptly, and as if to confirm his suspicions, the head too uttered something similiarily undecryptable. The voice gave it away though; this was definitely, undoubtfully, one billion percent sure Taiju.

"Of all the..", Senkuu grumbled, letting himself sink down again, his back starting to complain. Relaxing, the images of his dream came to mind. In retrospective, none made sense at all. Then again, most dreams only made sense while you were asleep. The critical part of your brain just didn't work while you were dreaming. At least, that's what he'd heard. The whole scenario seemed so utterly ridiculous to him that he gave it a semi-amused snort. Tsukasa coming for a sick call?

Right.

~Must've been feverish or something..~, he concluded, especially now that he slowly but surely came to his senses, his body felt incredibly sore, like the unwelcome feeling after a harsh cold or the flu. Yeah, more like the latter, he decided, closing his eyes once again, for he'd seen what he needed to. No use wasting more energy. He remembered how often his scrawny young self had been sick. He'd been prone to catching everything that went around, due to his lifestyle of spending most time indoors. How _he'd_ been there, Byakuya, his dad. The man had spent every waking hour with him until he was better, telling stories, feeding him god-awful self-made broth he claimed would help one billion percent (which of course was a lie, but the intent counted; his young self had believed in the man's tall tales and the placebo effect was strong enough to make him better on general principles, he analyzed) and wiping his brow whenever a fever arose - which was almost every time, with his immune system, being too weak to prevent the infection in the first place, resorting to raising the body temperature to slow down the germs.

Bitter sweet memories, almost regrets. He'd spent too little time with the man and now it was too late. No science in the world could bring back the dead, ignoring the Medusa device; even cloning would just create a twin that was biologically the same age as the source material, dying just as quickly too. Given he even had material in the first place, which was a definite no after 3700 years and counted for Medusa as well. It was one thing to preserve minerals and metals, but DNA didn't make it for long after death. He too would just disappear from the world, cell by cell, until his atoms were strewn across the world, mixed in with dirt, air molecules and part of bacteria. The information about the person he was would be gone, or at least scattered far and wide enough to call it gone.

Starting to think about that, time went flying.

* * *

The next time Senkuu noticed his surroundings again, it was because the two people sharing his bed began to wake. Or more, Yuzuriha woke, left in a hurry. Taiju kept sleeping like a rock - no pun intended -; only moved enough that his arm made a wide arch and then -slap!- fell limp, right on the blonde scientist who bit back a curse and used his now free arm to move the muscled limb of the friend off him. With a little more space to spare, he also moved a little over, where the girl in their little circle had been moments before. Of course, Taiju didn't notice a thing, only mumbling something.

Senkuu decided to try his luck - with his rational mind warning him of this very notion - and leave the bed. Sitting up worked just fine, swinging his legs slowly over the bed's edge didn't cause any black spots in his vision either, very well.

~Here we go..~

Pushing off the bed and up to his legs, he found them unexpectedly sturdy as he stood the first time for what felt like at least days. A few careful steps forwards worked nicely too, but were tiring as hell. Enough in fact to make him return to the bed before he'd make unpleasant acquaintance with the floor.

~Must've been out for longer then.. the muscles have atrophized..~

Sure enough, what was stone world-hardened muscle beneath tight skin had turned into pudding. At least he still could walk at all. But what little endurance he'd had was gone for now. He didn't exactly look forward to it, but there'd have to be some serious workout if he wanted to live. A first; he'd deemed sports as quite the unneccessary effort back in the days before being petrified. Something to burn off excessive energy that you could use for something more productive, a scoff-worthy activity at best. But in this world, you needed to be able to get away from danger, given you couldn't fight it off. Him being no fighter to begin with and his only weapon being science which took longer than any danger would wait, he'd have to regain his endurance, and soon.

So he took another try and forced himself to remain on his feet, despite his stance being more shaky than he'd hoped it would be. Also, he felt incredibly hungry; kinda as if he'd eaten nothing but soup for weeks and was overdue for his next meal. Maybe some fresh air would help, he decided and slowly made his way to the door of the sickroom.

A fresh breeze indeed was what greeted him. That and a perfectly blinding white world that had him squint his eyes a little until they'd adapted to the brightness. Still he had to shield them against the glaring sun as he stepped outside - noticing just now he didn't wear any shoes which made itself quite known as his first step had been right into a half-melted little heap of half-frozen water, sending a shiver all the way from the cold sensation down below up to the tips of the last hair. They'd built the sickroom cabin a good deal outside the village, in case of an infectious disease that would spread otherwise. This too had the side-effect of giving the sick and injured the much needed peace and quiet to heal, but also made a quick trip to the village something that just wasn't gonna happen. Usually they'd stock up on some well-conserved foods to keep everyone inside fed without having to walk miles and miles for a meal, but a quick look at the storage chest confirmed its emptiness. He'd have to have a word with Chrome about it, but not now. Before his bare feet could get frostbitten, he returned inside, closing the door as he did, leaning against it for support as another wave of deeply-felt tiredness washed over him. Frustration added to the mix when he noticed the trembling going up from his underused leg-muscles.

~This will be a pain in the neck to get fixed..~

He spotted a chair that looked like it was knocked over in a hurry, so he made his way there, returned it to a proper position and sat down, breathing heavily from the effort. Leaning back against the chair, the blonde found time to study the ceiling. No surprise he'd felt a little cold; the roof had some serious leaks there that would need fixing if the cabin wasn't mean to rot anytime soon. Proper insulation wasn't a given either with holes like this, putting anyone inside in danger - also everyone outside, since there'd be nothing to keep germs inside if polluted air got out 24/7. This wasn't such a problem with the door, with it being open for maybe a few seconds, rather than hours. A word with Chrome, he reaffirmed and stretched his legs, sinking on the chair.

~.. Just how long was I out anyway? Last time I checked we didn't even have chairs in here..~, the scientist mused, one hand lazily touching the bamboo-esque design and following one tube from back to front. It wasn't comfortable by any means, but better than a wooden log any day of the week. Also, now that he was sitting, a deadbeat sleepiness joined his aching and sore muscles. When Yuzuriha finally returned, carrying a little bowl with something salty-smelling and steaming in it, she found him half slouched, eyes closed, too deep asleep to even take notice of her. While for a moment she'd flinched enough to almost drop the soup, she calmed down quickly. Living in this day and age had changed her, as had it changed everyone. She had become a lot more mature through the last few months; if not exactly in body, though very well in spirit. Thus she sighed, approached the sleeping blonde and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Senkuu-kun..", she spoke softly, unwilling to wake Taiju as well. The person in question mumbled something in the likes of 'not now.. don't you.. see.. that.. hrmlf..' but was obviously refusing to wake up, even made a less than half-assed motion with his hand in her direction, as if trying to shoo away a fly. The girl next to him frowned, sighed again, put the bowl in a safe distance on the ground and tried again. A few gentle slaps on the cheek finally did the trick, had her patient open his eyes so suddenly she jumped back, only to have her movements followed by a dazed look in the same eyes.

"G-good morning, Senkuu-kun..", she almost whimpered, which he replied to with a hearty yawn, then proceeded to rub his eyes that stung profusely. When it was clear he wouldn't speak, she continued. "I brought breakfast..", she explained, pointing at the bowl, waiting for an aknowledgement, but the young scientist's mind seemed elsewhere right now. Then, after a moment, something seemed to click, his eyes focused and he looked up at her.

"Yuzuriha...", he finally noticed, which had her giggling. It was so not-him to be out of it and thus a truly precious moment.

"Breakfast", she repeated, fetching the bowl and giving it to him, seeing he was about alert enough to do the eating part himself. Not unlike a starved animal he proceeded to drink the fluids, savoring the taste as if he'd never eaten such a thing until the bowl was empty and his stomach full.

"Damn.. I really needed that..", his content sigh escaped his mouth before he could stop it, sending Yuzuriha into another giggling fit. By now, the third in their little circle had passed the first layer of sleep and slowly came to.

"Can you guys be any louder..?", Taiju moaned, his brain catching up seconds later, clearly visible by the wide eyed stare he gave the other male as he sat up quicker than either had seen another do. "Senkuu, you're up!"

"Obviously, you big oaf", said scientist replied, meant to be condescending - got to keep up an image - but having a playful tone to it. Taiju either didn't care or missed it altogether, as he suddenly jumped up and made way to hug his friend, who basically saw it coming, attempted to move from his seat and even did it, but less graceful than he'd planned to, resulting in Taiju throwing over the chair once again as he hit it in an exaggerated jump, Senkuu staggering away just in time and Yuzuriha looking between both, undecisive whose side to take. Either Senkuu, who was panting harder than his move should have caused him to, or Taiju, who groaned after having hit his head on the wall, a proud bump on said head. Finally she helped Taiju up, decided his thick head was just fine and rightened the chair before turning to Senkuu who was about to throw a tirade about he didn't like to be hugged by men, when Yuzuriha raised a hand, asking him to be silent.

"You must know..", she said, suddenly sober, almost sad. ".. the time you were out.."


End file.
